In addition to plugging security holes, solution also advises the users about holes in browsers and their plug-ins

June 24, 2009

3 Min Read

PRESS RELEASE

Essential security starts with keeping your software updated and plugging the holes used by criminals and malware, for years the best security offered to private users has been anti-virus programs and personal firewalls.

Now there is a better solution, the Secunia PSI. The Secunia PSI helps users plug all the security holes on their machine. A new feature in the Secunia PSI also advise the users about holes in browsers and the plug-ins used by the browsers.

The "Secure Browsing" feature has been beta tested for a month, and the users are very positive about how it helps them stay secure and feel more comfortable and safe when they surf the net.

While anti-virus will detect many known attacks, they largely fail to detect new attacks, in particular attacks exploiting known security holes in software. By plugging the holes in your software you effectively thwart all these known attacks which criminals create using sophisticated exploit toolkits.

Thomas Kristensen, Secunia CTO, says; "Essential PC-security starts with updating your software and acting responsibly on the Internet, at this point no other solutions than the Secunia PSI helps the users updating third party software, Microsoft offers a similar solution but it only covers software from Microsoft.".

US BASED PC USERS HAS 2,720,800,000 VULNERABLE PROGRAMS INSTALLED!

Going local As part of Secunias commitment to help private users secure their systems, free-of-charge, we have asked the community to help translate the Secunia PSI into as many languages as possible. As of today the Secunia PSI is available in 16 languages and an additional 10 is currently being translated.

Many of the translations have been made by national CERTs (Computer Emergency Rescue Teams) and Secunia are very pleased to receive this recognition from the "national protectors of IT-security". This clearly shows that many important organisations working with security realise that updating PCs are essential to security and that no other viable solutions for this huge problem are available to private users.

For years Secunia has stated that installing the latest security patches for your programs is just as important as having an anti-virus program and being behind a firewall, fact of the matter is, that it would be more accurate to say that "updating your programs and computer with the latest security updates is more important than having an anti-virus program and using a firewall."

The latest version of the Secunia Personal Software Inspector introduces two new major features:

  • "Secure Browsing"

    • The PSI Worldmap

      "Secure Browsing" - inspect your browsers Secure Browsing is without a doubt one of the most important aspects of on-line security. If your favourite browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) or one of its plug-ins (like Flash Player, QuickTime, Java, etc.) is vulnerable, then you're exposed to attacks which can compromise your system without you knowing it every single time you visit a website.

      The Secunia PSI 1.5 offers a unique detailed insight into your browser and the programs and plugins, which expose you to attacks when you surf the Internet.

      The PSI Worldmap shows the active users of the Secunia PSI all over the world " and their level of security, number of patched and un-patched programs etc. The information is interesting and fun to watch " but also quite terrifying, if you start putting a perspective on the information displayed:

      In the US there are 227,000,000 Internet users.

      Approximately 400,000 US based users got the Secunia PSI,they have an average of 4 un-patched programs.

      The average non-PSI users in the US has 12 un-patched programs.

      Facts;

Keep up with the latest cybersecurity threats, newly discovered vulnerabilities, data breach information, and emerging trends. Delivered daily or weekly right to your email inbox.

You May Also Like


More Insights